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One Reason To Lie About Your Psoriasis

I had lunch with a fellow psoriasis conqueror a few weeks ago. One thing we had in common is that at some point in our life’s, we lied about our psoriasis. I remember being young and trying to comprehend my disease. When people would ask what it was, I would tell all types of lies. (Check out my latest post, 7 Lies I Told About Psoriasis http://beingmeinmyownskin.com/2013/04/13/7-lies-i-told-about-my-psoriasis/)

One of the reason’s why I lied was because I, myself, didn’t understand psoriasis. Imagine being 8 years old trying to explain an incurable medical condition, it’s not as easy as it seems.

Through my journey, I’ve discovered that there is only one reason to lie about your psoriasis… And that is because you are ashamed and want to hide. You are afraid of what people may think, or in my case it was easier to say it was something else that people could relate to, such as skin allergies or eczema.

But in doing that, you give yourself and your disease a disadvantage. As I look back over my life, I think of the thousands of people I could have educated about psoriasis, but I chose not to because I was ashamed.

For all of my psoriasis conquerors that are still suffering in silence, I hope that my post encourage you to finally come out the closet! I know all too well how hard it is to not only combat this disease physically, but mentally as well. The biggest thing that helps me is finding other people dealing with psoriasis. There is support out there! Meeting other people made me realize that I am not fighting this alone! Please check the top right corner for links to resources and support!

I have it since i was 16, am 20 now, and I have always been honest about the disease and I don’t care about consequence. I try to educated people as much as I can.
I like your lie “I don’t like swimming”. I actually live on the coast so swimming is part of my life, and i have problem showing my skin but just for a minute, then i forget all bout it and enjoy. To be honest am more shamed about being overweight than about psoriasis.
I am really happy that I have found out this blog, wish you best

Hey Nick! Thanks for reading, and sharing your story. I want to get over the fear of showing my skin. I like hearing you say that you deal with the fear, BUT you start having fun and you forget about it. That’s where I want to be mentally by the end of this summer.

I got my Psoriasis really young, 6 months old. So I got to grow up with it and most of the times, it covered about 70-85% of my body. I don’t think I ever really “Came out” about it because it was always there. As a kid I loved shorts and short sleeved shirts. I loved to run and play like everyone else, I just looked different. I got a ton of questions, so many in fact I broke down and started to do show and tells about it when I was real young.

“This patch started yesterday. That one is from about a year ago. This one is the itchiest part. This here is the driest. Sometimes when I stretch like this… it hurts and breaks open.” And I was so interested in showing people in hopes of getting them to stop staring. I was ashamed of it, how could I have not been. There were days it covered my face, and because of it always being in view, I couldn’t hide it. I grew up with it “out there” and never learned to feel any less ashamed of it.

It is easy to talk about, my boyfriend isn’t bothered by it. My friends aren’t bothered by it and neither is my family. Still, I get self-conscious. When I put on my medication, I don’t want to bump into anyone by accident. Sometimes, I’ll deal with pain if I’m going out with friends. When my boyfriend catches me doing that though, he usually makes me put my medication on. He doesn’t like when I look like I’m in pain just reaching for a remote or something.

Slowly but surely, I’m getting used to it. I’m 24 now. I’m starting to accept that it doesn’t bother others who care about me. I feel a little less shame over it. 6 months old to 24 years old is a long time to feel shame over something though. I can only hope if I have kids, I am over it by then. If my child has it, I want to be there for them and let them know there isn’t anything to be ashamed of.

I have had psoriasis since I was eight. I remember what it was like when classmates would see an outbreak. The horror on their face and the moving away because they were afraid they may catch it. By the time I was a teenager it was under pretty good control. Than as it started up again in my 20’s I had it! So when people would look at me I would say oh that is psoriasis. It amazed me that although they had heard of it they knew nothing about it. By the time I was done with them they had enough knowledge that they could now not only sympathize but also empathize with people with the disease. The only way we are going to find a cure is to increase research. We need to educate people as to what psoriasis and PA is. We do not need to be embarrassed. We have a disease that they are now finding leads to other diseases. It is devastating to say the least. I now not only have PD and PA but Graves disease as well. Which is another autoimmune disease. Which I am now told after all these years that a person with one Autoimmune disorder is more likely to flare another. The news just keeps getting better! Educate these people who look at you. Hold your head up high and know God made you and he doesn’t make mistakes there is a reason for it. Maybe it is you that can help find a cure.

Have you noticed all the commercials on tv about psoriasis now? 10 years ago that was NOT happening, it’s refreshing… Because as you said, a lot of people have HEARD of it, but they don’t know exactly what it is. But at least they’ve heard the name before, that helps a little! Thanks for sharing.

Nice to hear a strong comments about such a bad disease.
In your area people may have some knowledge about this but here in Pakistan where I live people treat it as type of AIDS and may be worse than that.
I am hoping to be strong like you.
Pray for me.

Nice to hear a strong comments about such a bad disease.
In your area people may have some knowledge about this but here in Pakistan where I live people treat it as form of AIDS and may be worse than that.
I am hoping to be strong like you.
Pray for me.

This is so encouraging! I have met so many people suffering from not only the physical part of psoriasis, but also the emotional part of psoriasis. It’s a great idea to think of hiding as a missed opportunity to educate someone who has no knowledge, or the wrong idea, of what psoriasis is…and that it’s not contagious! So many people have the wrong idea and we have the ability to change that.